The Economic Way of Thinking 13th Edition by David Prychitko, Peter Boettke, Paul Heyne

Exercise 17

Why do our courts require citizens who have been selected for jury duty to serve whether they want to or not? Couldn't courts obtain as many jurors as they require on a voluntary basis if they raised the fee for jury duty? Why don't we raise the fee, staff juries with volunteers, and stop imposing the heavy costs of jury duty on so many people who must abandon other valuable activities to do their "jury duty?" How do you suppose the composition of juries would be affected by such a move to a system of all-volunteer jurors? Is it legitimate to use coercion in this case, because serving on a jury is every citizen's duty? If so, why don't we fine people who don't vote? Isn't voting a citizen's duty? Even better, why not fine people who fail a rigorous current affairs test or do not vote? That way we would coerce citizens into casting an informed vote. Or would we?